Prayer for September 22, 2021

Prayer for September 22, 2021: Please pray with me. God of the seasons, you created all things, including the seasons. As we shift into a new season, we pray that this would be not only a change in season for the earth, but also a change of season in our hearts and minds. In the Northern Hemisphere, we move to Autumn. Let our willful resistance and willful stubbornness fall like leaves from trees — fall because our resistance and stubbornness are not full of life, but are dead weight. Soften our hearts. Unclench our hands. Move us from seeking hatred of others, to seeking forgiveness and mercy. Move us from our worship of false idols like partisan loyalties to seeking out the image of God in creation. Loosen our grip on the destructive desire to be right and to continue lying to ourselves that we think we know what is right. Let these sinful ways fall during this season, so that there is room for you. Amen.

Call to Action: We have a tendency to believe that we are right and anyone who disagrees with us is automatically wrong. We think we possess common sense while our opponents are irrational. We place ourselves as the “good guys” always, to the point that we have excuses for dehumanizing and labeling and attacking our enemies. For today, stop attempting to change your enemies. Just pray for them — a prayer for their wellbeing, and for a change of your own heart to see the image of God in your enemy.

Originally published at https://pastormatthewbest.com on September 22, 2021.